As Destiny Grows
by RavenNyxSilverwing
Summary: What if Obi-Wan Kenobi wasn't Qui-Gon Jinns Padawan, how could their lives have looked like? Obi/Qui AU
1. Prologue

As Destiny Grows...

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Prologue

It wasn't often that Obi-Wan Kenobi thought about his childhood anymore. At least not the early years, the years that he had spent at the Jedi temple on Coruscant. In Obi-Wan's mind, his life began when he was thirteen and was banished from the temple for failing to get picked by a Master.

The children that were brought to the Temple were raised in the crèche as Initiates until they were above the age of nine but under the age of thirteen. During that period they were eligible to be picked by a Jedi Knight or a Master to be a Padawan. If they hadn't been chosen at the age of thirteen they were 'banished' from the temple to work for one of the many companies that served the Jedi. A few of those were the Pilot-Cops and the Agri-Corps. Most Initiates that were refused hoped to be chosen for the Pilot-Corps since it was well known that most that was sent to the Agri-Corps rarely lasted a whole year in the harsh environment on destroyed planets.

Obi-Wan had been one of the best Initiates in his age group and everyone said that he would be picked by a master before he was twelve. But by the time he was twelve no one had picked him. Master Yoda had told him to have faith in the Force and that he knew that Obi-Wan would be chosen. Obi-Wan had smiled at the old Master and tried to hide his fear and disappointment.

His hope rose again when he whispers reached the crèche, apparently Master Qui-Gon Jinn had arrived at the Temple and had reluctantly agreed to Yoda's order to go see the Initiates and find a new Padawan. Obi-Wan hoped that this Master would pick him since he was only a few weeks from reaching his thirteenth birthday.

When he saw Qui-Gon for the first time Obi-Wan knew that Qui-Gon was his, he did not know how he knew this but he did. So it felt even worse when Qui-Gon had walked right passed him and then turning to Yoda saying that no one of these Initiates would be his Padawan and then walk away. It was a miracle that Obi-Wan had managed to stay on his feet and the glances he got from his crèche mates made it worse.

The day after he got his orders, he was to join the Agri-Corps on Bandomeer. The gasp that traveled around his age mates at that made even the Crèche Master apprehensive. They had sent six Initiates to Bandomeer the last four years and the one who had lived the longest had survived barley three months. No Initiates left Bandomeer alive.

Obi-Wan knew that he would not last long enough to be able to leave on his own, so when the Crèche Master left him at the landing pad he took his chance and ran as fast and as hard as he could. Before long he was swallowed up by the chaos that was Coruscant.

He lived hiding in the shadows, using what he knew of the Force to stay hidden, for a few weeks. Running from the slavers, they liked to pick children from the streets, and the less scrupulous citizens that saw the street kids as expendable.

He spent days finding the places where he was relatively safe to sleep and the best places to find food and water. There wasn't a lot of parks or green spaces in Coruscant, hadn't been for centuries but there was a few biodomes where nature had been allowed to grow almost unchecked and everyone was welcome to visit, a few of them had springs and ponds.

He even managed to find a few friends, other kids that lived on the lower levels of Coruscant, in the smog and the filth. They took care of each other as much as possible and they took in Obi-Wan, mostly because he was pretty enough to con people out of credits or food one way or another.

But all that stopped when he heard the news from the temple, there was a bar in the middle level of Coruscant that was for the use of Jedi only, that Master Jinn finally had picked a Padawan. That in itself might not have been too bad, no the bad thing was who Master Jinn had chosen. He had picked Bruck Chun, a boy who had competed with Obi-Wan in everything from a very young age. That had hurt.

The news caused Obi-Wan to be less attentive than usual and resulted in him being caught by the slavers. He had been sent from Coruscant on a slave ship less than an hour later on the way to one of many auctions that he would be a part of in the following years.

For a few years he was sold from master to master and taught to do a wide range of things from cooking to the pleasure arts. In the end he had a few bad masters and a few good once before he was sold to the Pleasure Guild.

The Pleasure Guild sent him to Naboo where he spent four years learning to be an Artisan. Artisans were entertainers but they rarely slept with their clients, no instead they arranged parties, sang, painted or otherwise amused the people that hired them.

Obi-Wan became popular with the royal court of Naboo and Queen Amidala often hired him. At first he was only there as the entertainment, to sing or dance but eventually he was well liked enough that the court started asking him to host their parties and he got more and more freedom to create the dinner and parties. That made Queen Amidala sure that she could hire him herself without anyone saying anything. Amidala grew to like him enough to let him in on the state secret of her handmaidens. She saw him as her little brother and Obi-Wan loved her like a sister.

It was at this point in his life, in Obi-Wan's twenty-second year that he finally began to live.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Obi-Wan walked down the open, calm streets of Theed, the capital of Naboo. Theed was a beautiful city, with trees and nature everywhere, the main square even had a waterfall. It was early morning so very few were out on the streets, most still asleep like Obi-Wan would have been if he hadn't promised to teach meditation this morning at the Jedi Temple.

The temple was small and mostly housed those Initiates that were highly emphatic and could not stand the mass of emotions that a planet as crowded as Coruscant were. Naboo was a peaceful planet and those who lived there was as peaceful as the planet making it the perfect place for young empaths to learn shielding before going to Coruscant.

Because it was such a small temple there was never enough people to train the Initiates so when the Temple Master found out that Obi-Wan had trained at the Main Temple on Coruscant he was ecstatic, someone who could teach the beginner levels and he didn't even need to convince the council that it was necessary to send someone.

Obi-Wan were smiling when he stepped into the temple and walked straight out through the door on the opposite wall and ended up in the temples garden. The gardens were large and varied; some parts were used for meditation and some parts were used to teach the younglings patience. After all, plants took time to grow.

The meditation gardens were quiet this morning, peaceful and quiet like the rest of Naboo, but it wasn't empty. In the corner under the flowering trees sat a man; he was in a lotus position, clearly meditating. He looked like he was around forty but with some human hybrids it was hard to tell, and pure humans were rarely Jedi. Not that there was a lot of pure humans left, most had mixed with other species.

Obi-Wan made sure to set up the circle of pillows for the younglings as far away from the meditating man as possible. Younglings could be rowdy and loud and that was a good way to break any meditation. Waiting for the younglings Obi-Wan thought back to the day before, it was one of the best days in his life. He had finally managed to earn enough to pay back his purchase price, and was now a free man hired by the Pleasure Guild.

He had gotten the offer to move to Pleasure worker instead of being an Artisan since that paid more but he liked being an Artisan and so he chose to stay employed as that. It also meant that he still had to deal with Queen Amidala's ball that night.

He focused on the garden again as the suns first rays finally rose above the rooftops. They fell on the man and Obi-Wan could finally see who it was. It was Master Qui-Gon Jinn; the man who had made sure Obi-Wan's dreams would never come true. Obi-Wan could not help but to glare at him and spitefully he moved the pillows to the center of the lawn, as close he could without being seen as rude. Master Jinn would have to live with the noise from the younglings.

He had no more than laid the last pillow down before the door to the kitchen opened and the younglings came running out. Well they ran as good as they could, the youngest one was carried by the Crèche Master. The baby was just five months old and was to be in on the lesson so to feel how a mind in meditation felt like.

Obi-Wan smiled at the younglings as they gathered around him. He loved children, their minds were so open and honest. He greeted the eleven Initiates by name the youngest beside the baby was six and the oldest a month from turning ten. She would be sent back to Coruscant the day after her birthday so that she could be picked as a Padawan. Obi-Wan really hoped someone would pick her.

The Crèche Master handed over Altea, the baby, and told the children that he could call them back before dinner. Obi-Wan thanked him and told the younglings to pick a pillow and sit down. When everyone was sitting he took the last pillow and carefully sat down so not to wake up Altea. He placed her in his lap and prepared to start the meditation when he noticed that Master Jinn was slowly coming back to reality.

Qui-Gon was deep in meditation, letting the Force guide him in letting go of his pain and guilt. Just a few months earlier his Padawan, Bruck Chun, had died in a training accident. He had been doing a high level kata that he wasn't cleared for or even skilled enough to do, and to make things worse he had been doing it on his own after hours in a training hall that was far from the more populated path.

Chun had been caught trying to do it earlier in the week and Qui-Gon had forbidden him to try again until he had managed to do the levels between flawlessly first. Qui-Gon had thought that it would be enough to forbid his Padawan from trying it since it had worked in the past. He had found out after Chun's death that Chun had never obeyed him when he was forbidden to do something; he had just done it in secret instead.

And it was from that most of Qui-Gon's guilt came from, he had thought that his Padawan understood why he could not do some katas yet but it had apparently been ignored and Qui-Gon thought he should have known that. Everyone, even Yoda, had told him that it wasn't something you could know.

Since Qui-Gon could not stop blaming himself, Yoda had ordered that Qui-Gon take time off and told him that Naboo was a good place to rest, unless he wanted to go to Dagobah of course. Qui-Gon might not want to take time off but he wasn't stupid enough to choose Dagobah as his vacation spot. So he had taken the first shuttle to Naboo.

He had arrived in the middle of the night and since he didn't want to wake anyone up, he could feel that everyone in the temple was asleep, he decided to meditate instead. He hadn't planned on meditating so long though. When he started to withdraw from the meditation he heard children, talking and screaming close by.

Opening his eyes the first thing he saw was a tall man with reddish gold hair and sharp features. He was accepting a baby from the Crèche Master, but from his clothes Qui-Gon could see that he wasn't a Jedi. But since the Crèche Master had no problems leaving the kids in the care of the man they must know him well.

The baby had been fussing slightly but as she was handed to the man she quieted down and almost immediately fell asleep. Qui-Gon could feel the baby's contentment; she was a strong empath and was broadcasting her emotions clearly.

That she had quieted down when she was put in the arms of the man showed that he was Force sensitive and the slight probe Qui-Gon could feel showed that the man had been trained one way or the other. The way he got the younglings to sit down and be quiet also showed that because he had used the Force to make the children relax and be less enthusiastic.

As Qui-Gon watched the man sat down and placed the baby in his lap carefully so that he didn't wake her up. He then started speaking and his voice was smooth and cultured with a slight coruscant accent.

"Well, younglings, are you ready for today's meditation lesson?" Qui-Gon could hear the smile. It was obvious that the man loved children, and that children loved him. The children screamed in delight over the lesson something that would never happen at the Temple at Coruscant. It made Qui-Gon smile.

"Shh, we have a guest today and he might need the quiet to meditate himself. So why don't we try to me as quiet as possible?" The children quieted down somewhat reluctantly.

Qui-Gon smiled again, younglings were so earnest and cute. He reached out with the Force to get the man's attention and sent a short burst of a questioning feeling, asking without words if he could join in. He got a look and a nod as an answer.

The man turned back to the younglings explaining that the guest, the Master Jedi in the corner, would join them for today's meditating, if they were kind he could perhaps help. Slowly Qui-Gon rose and walked over to where to small girls had squeezed together on one pillow so that Qui-Gon could have the other one. He thanked them an slowly sat down.

"Hello, little ones. I am Qui-Gon Jinn, I am to stay here at the temple for a few weeks." He smiled at the younglings as they started introducing themselves. The man went last.

"I am Obi-Wan Kenobi. I usually help out here they day's I have time. The Crèche Master asked me to teach beginner level katas and meditation a few months ago so that is what I am doing." Qui-Gon wanted to ask what he did otherwise but felt that now wasn't the time. Obi-Wan smiled down at the now awake baby.

"And this is Altea. She arrived a week ago, and so far only me or the Crèche Master have been able to care for her, she only screams otherwise. Today is my day to care for her." And then Obi-Wan quickly started the lesson. Qui-Gon noticed that he was very good at getting the younglings to do as he wanted them to do and then withdraw so quietly that they didn't notice that they were alone in their minds.

The meditation was long and most of the kids managed to stay in the meditation for at least half the time. When they couldn't anymore Obi-Wan just smiled at them and let them play, but he made sure that they stayed as quiet as possible. All in all Qui-Gon was impressed by the ease that Obi-Wan taught with.

When all the younglings had run off to play Obi-Wan turned to Qui-Gon. "So, what brought a Jedi Master without a Padawan all the way out here? There are no Initiates here who is able to be chosen." Qui-Gon winced. That was still a sore point.

"My Padawan died a few months ago in a training accident. My Master thought I needed a vacation to release the guilt. He gave me two places to choose between and since Dagobah is not a place anyone goes willingly I came here." Obi-Wan snorted over the Dagobah comment but unlike most others Qui-Gon had met he didn't offer condolences for the death of his Padawan. In fact, Obi-Wan seemed to not care that the Padawan had died.

"Why are you here then, if I may ask? You obviously had some Force training but you are not a Jedi." Obi-Wan glared. That made Qui-Gon wince again, that was apparently the wrong thing to ask.

"Yes, I was trained in the Force. I spent twelve years at the temple on Coruscant, but I wasn't chosen to be a Padawan. You were, in fact, the last Master who said no to me before they shipped me off to the Agri-Corps. Not that I got there. I was assigned to Bandomeer." Qui-Gon could not help the gasp, Bandomeer was the place most Agri-Corps workers were sent when they no longer were useful. To send a thirteen year old there was cruel.

"I ran away from the transport and lived on the streets of Coruscant a few weeks before I was caught by the slavers. After that I was sold from master to master until the Pleasure Guild bought me five years ago. I managed to pay of my purchase price yesterday." He sounded proud over that, and it was something to be proud of. Most slaves never managed to earn enough to buy themselves free.

Altea was squirming in response to Obi-Wan's emotions but Qui-Gon could see the effort he made to calm down and after only a few minutes he managed. Smiling down at the baby he looked like a new father doting on his daughter. In a flash of knowledge Qui-Gon knew that if Obi-Wan had been trained as a Jedi, Altea would have been his Padawan. Qui-Gon shivered. He hated the feeling of knowing that something small had changed so much.

Now that he knew of Obi-Wan's history he could feel the dislike aimed his way from the young man. He hoped that it would fade with time. Before he managed to stand to leave Obi-Wan asked a question.

"Why didn't you choose me? I know you could feel pull from the Force as well as I could, if not better since you were fully trained. I had dreamed about life as your Padawan before I even saw you for the first time. You were supposed to be mine." There was sadness and pain in the young mans voice. Qui-Gon could feel that same sadness and pain in his heart and knew that however he answered this he would hurt him.

"I am sorry that your life didn't turn out as you dreamed or hoped. Yes I could sense the pull, but I could also sense that if I took you as my Padawan both of us would die before your Knighting. The Force told me that I could make a choice, I could take you as my Padawan and we would have close to a decade of good years or I could choose another and we would have close to a decade of acceptable years apart and then live the rest of our lives happy. I don't know what the Force meant by happy, it's not exactly easy to understand it." The dislike from Obi-Wan had lessened during Qui-Gon's answer.

"I made the choice I could live with. Yoda assured me that I no one would take you he would take you himself. When you didn't turn up as his Padawan I assumed that a Master from one of the other temples had taken you. I have to ask Yoda where things went wrong." Obi-Wan could not dislike him anymore. It wasn't really Qui-Gon's fault.

They talked for a while longer about everything and nothing. Qui-Gon told Obi-Wan about his Padawan, who had been arrogant and impatient, and Qui-Gon's hopes that he could have overcome those character flaws. They also talked about Obi-Wan's life and how he had been lucky to have been sold to a good man that first time. The man had been a pedophile but he hadn't hurt Obi-Wan and had kept him until Obi-Wan turned eighteen. The two years after wasn't that easy and he had been sold close to ten times.

Qui-Gon was very interested in Obi-Wan's job as an Artisan but before they could start on that subject the lunch bell rang and the Temple Master Norlan came almost running out of the Temples main room.


	3. Chapter 2

As Destiny Grows

Chapter Two

Temple Master Norlan was a big and energetic man, for a Jedi. He was rarely still and if you managed to get him to sit down he looked like he was being chased by a Sith until you let him stand up and walk around again. But despite these quirks he was a well liked man and a good administrator. Somehow he always managed to wrestle the supplies and teachers he needed from the Council where others had failed. Obi-Wan thought he had an in with Master Yoda.

This day he looked a bit harried, like he had been pulled suddenly from his bed, which he might have been since he seemed to be missing half of his uniform. Qui-Gon saw the Master approaching and turned to Obi-Wan.

"Does he always look so rumpled by lunch time?" Obi-Wan started laughing and then he could not stop laughing. It made the infant in his lap wave her hands around and project her happiness clearly. Qui-Gon could only stare at Obi-Wan and shake his head, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips.

Norlan had finally arrived where they were sitting. Panting and flushed from the run.

"Master Jinn." He paused to catch his breath. "We weren't expecting you until the end of the week. I'm sorry I wasn't here to welcome you to Naboo and our Temple." He seemed to notice that he wasn't very well dressed because he pulled his robe tighter around his body. Obi-Wan were focusing on breathing Qui-Gon could see.

"Nothing to worry about Master Norlan. I arrived in the middle of the night and I could sense that everyone in the temple was sleeping. Since it was so late I decided to meditate instead of asking for a room. As for arriving at the end of the week my Master told me he had sent notice that I was leaving Coruscant immediately." Norlan shook his head.

"Well that message never arrived here. If you just wait a moment while I talk to Obi-Wan and I'll take you to your room and show you around." Qui-Gon nodded and stood up stretching slightly. He had been sitting down most of the night and the morning.

Norlan had a quick conversation with Obi-Wan where it was decided that he would come back and teach a few beginning classes in katas. Quickly when he noticed the time Obi-Wan said good bye and gathered Altea and the things he needed to care for her during the day and walked off. Norlan showed Qui-Gon through the door into the temples kitchen to begin the tour.

The kitchen was lively and full since all the children was there waiting for their lunch to be ready, or in the case of the older children helping the kitchen staff. Norlan greeted the children cheerfully before he swiftly moved Qui-Gon along. It looked like the normal was that Norlan got stuck in the kitchen until lunch was over.

The door in the kitchen opened up to a long hallway with more doors lining the walls. Norlan explained that most of the doors went to teaching rooms and practice rooms but that the door in the end of the hallway went to a sitting room. He turned around and walked the opposite way towards the staircase. The hallway was beautifully decorated but not opulent like the hallways on Coruscant.

The room Norlan showed him wasn't large; in fact he had gotten the smallest room in the temple. All the other rooms were used by the kids; they had separate rooms because of the empathy. It was easier to shield a room rather than a small part of a room.

Qui-Gon had smiled and told Norlan that it didn't matter all that much, it was only a bedroom and he had spent time in worse places over the years. Norlan seemed to give a quiet sigh of relief at that. He had been worried that the Master, a Master most thought would soon take a place on the Council, would have demanded a bigger room and caused a lot of trouble.

"Since the accommodations are acceptable would you like to join me in my office for a cup of tea?" Qui-Gon who hadn't yet had his first cup of tea that day gladly accepted. Norlan's office was spacious but cluttered. There was a desk, covered with things, two chairs and a sofa. The sofa was occupied by a sleeping toddler.

Norlan watched the toddler fondly as Qui-Gon placed a blanket over the child. The younglings loved his office for some reason and they would show up in his office every time they had nightmares.

They were quiet as they prepared the tea and sat down on either side of the desk. It was a comfortable silence though and before they had finished their first cups of tea the child had woken up and left the room. But not before he managed to pout his way to hugs from both masters. He left them chuckling. Younglings were the most precious thing in the world to the Jedi.

Qui-Gon was the first to speak. "I didn't realize that there were so many empathic younglings here." Norlan smiled a bit sadly.

"The younglings that come here are the ones who didn't have the best life before being found by the Jedi. They had nightmares and many of them are afraid to trust people. Sadly that affects the other younglings. The worst ones are sent here, so that they can learn to trust people." Qui-Gon nodded and let Norlan change the subject.

"You have been invited to Queen Amidalas party this evening. You don't have to go, since you are not here in any official capacity, but Amidala is a very stubborn young lady. If you don't show up she'll probably send some guards to get you." Qui-Gon laughed. He had met Queen Amidala the year before when she had accepted the throne and had been forced to travel to Coruscant to present herself to the Senate. He had liked her then and he was sure that he would like her now.

Norlan continued to talk.

"The invite just arrived with a note from Obi-Wan for your eyes only." He handed the datapad over to Qui-Gon. It was an older model, but it had been well cared for and felt more substantial than Qui-Gon's own.

The message begun with a royal invite from Queen Amidala where she: 'Would be delighted if the venerated Master Qui-Gon Jinn would have the kindness to accept Her humble invite.' The wording made him laugh; it was the same stilted and formal wording that the monarchs of Naboo had always used. Obi-Wan's message was refreshingly straight forward.

'Sorry for the formal invite. I told 'Dala that you would probably prefer to just show up but she insisted that as a Master it wouldn't be proper not to send an invite. I would also be on my toes this evening. 'Dala is in a matchmaking mood and since you are the newest arrival, be prepared to be showed my way by everyone.

-Obi-Wan Kenobi.'

The message caused him to snort, catching Norlan's attention. Qui-Gon handed over the datapad, there was nothing secret in the message and since Norlan was the Temple Master on Naboo he probably had read official notices from the Queen before.

As Norlan read Qui-Gon could not help but ponder the younger man. He had been pulled towards Obi-Wan when he had been thirteen, even if the force told him that this wasn't the best idea, but the pull was even stronger now. Like the Force was telling him that this was right, but it was too late to train Obi-Wan now and a Jedi was forbidden to bond with anyone outside the order. Qui-Gon decided, as Norlan put the datapad down on the desk, that he would live in the Moment and worry about the future when it happened.

~*~

Since Qui-Gon hadn't eaten lunch with the rest of the Temple he asked Norlan to describe the way to the closest place to eat, so that he could then spend his afternoon wandering the beautiful streets of Theed.

Norlan gave him a brief description of the way to a small family restaurant on one of the nearby squares. Of course he had managed to get totally lost just a few streets from the temple. Stopping, Qui-Gon looked around swearing. Not very dignified, but he was lost, hungry and annoyed. To make matters worse there was a sudden laugh behind him.

Spinning around Qui-Gon came face to face with a man, perhaps around thirty years of age, with sharp features and startling blond hair. The man stopped laughing but was still smiling.

"I am sorry, Master Jedi, but it is not often you get to see one of the serene Jedi cursing on a public street. My name is Anton Lamar. Is there something I can help you with?" Qui-Gon could feel Anton's eyes travel the length of his body before his eyes met the Jedi's again. Clearly this man was flirting and being a healthy human male Qui-Gon had nothing against it. He gave Anton a slow smile, causing a soft blush to color his cheeks.

"I am Qui-Gon Jinn, and there is in fact something you can help me with. I am in search of somewhere to eat. Do you know a good place nearby?" Anton had a sly smile on his face.

"I do know a good place nearby if you want to join me. I was just on my way there." Qui-Gon nodded, Anton was defiantly flirting with him.

"And where are we going then Anton?" Qui had his suspicions but he was attracted to the good looking man, and Yoda had told him to relax and have fun. This lunch looked like it could be both relaxing and fun.

"Why, my place of course!" And with that Anton hooked his arm in Qui's and started walking, talking quietly about nothing to the Master's great amusement.

~*~

Obi-Wan focused on the infant in his lap as Norlan talked to Master Qui-Gon, the talk they had just had hadn't been easy on him. To explain and talk about his past was something he tried to avoid. The only one who knew everything about his past was Queen Amidala. And now Qui-Gon knew a fair bit as well.

He would have to see if he could contact Yoda and ask why he hadn't chosen him as the tiny Master had promised Qui-Gon. Not that it would change anything, he was an Artisan and that was all he would be.

Norlan came over to him with a harried expression on his face. Apparently the Master hadn't had time to get his customary cup of tea that morning. In his mind Obi-Wan laughed over that, Norlan was a Temple Master but sometimes he acted more like the Padawan he hadn't been in over twenty years.

"Obi-Wan, I hope that Master Qui-Gon didn't disturb your class this morning." Obi-Wan shook his head; Qui-Gon had helped him support some of the younger children. "Good, I have a favor to ask of you Obi-Wan. I was hoping that you could teach a few beginning classes on katas. It has been so long since I taught anyone them and Master Qui-Gon is here to relax." Obi-Wan did a short mental inventory if he had anything planned in the mornings the next few ten-days.

"I'll be happy to help you Master. I have nothing planned and can take one two hour class every morning, if that suit your schedule." Norlan looked so relieved that Obi-Wan almost started laughing. He had heard the complaints from the Master before on the impossibility to get a teaching Master out to Naboo to teach the beginner katas.

A few short minutes later and the classes were put on the schedule and Obi-Wan noticed what time it was. He had an entire day's errand to do before the evening meal. He bid Norlan and Qui-Gon a swift farewell, gathered Altea's things and were walking quickly to the exit to the street before he could change his mind and go hide in the Temple.

The first two errands went smoothly; they had been arranged in advance so all he had to do was to check to see that the napkins were the right white color and to make sure that the right wine had been put aside by the vineyard. Everything was as it was supposed to be and it didn't take long to get someone from the palace to arrive to pick the wine and the napkins up.

It was after that everything went straight to the Dark Side. First the Queens dress, and why he had to pick it up he didn't know, was in the wrong color. That was solved by simply dying the dress; it would be finished in a few hours as it only had to dry. And then he was told by the baker that they hadn't been able to make fifty quella berry cakes only twenty five and the other twenty five were basic lemon cakes.

Obi-Wan hoped that 'Dala didn't try the lemon cakes, she hated lemon. But since the baker hadn't contacted Obi-Wan he couldn't do much more than accept it and arrange for the cakes to be dropped off at the palace kitchen.

He was taking a break to get something to eat and to feed Altea when someone he never wanted to see again walked up to him and sat down in the empty chair next to him. It was his second "owner" the most violent of all his owners. He had reveled in hurting his slaves and Obi-Wan, being the prettiest and newest of his slaves, was the one to most often end up under his "masters" hand.

"Hello Obi-Wan, remember me?" Obi-Wan shivered. Tiberu, his former owner's name, had a very oily voice. He scooted as far away as he could get and made sure not to turn his back to Tiberu for even a second.

"What do you want? I am a free man now, leave me alone." Altea was whimpering slightly as she picked up the feelings from Obi-Wan. A few of the other guests were throwing glances their way.

"Oh, nothing much. I have need of your, how to put this, skills again." Tiberu leaned closer. "Are you going to help me or are the precious Jedi Temple going to find out what you have done in the past? They might not want you around their young if they find out." Obi-Wan flinched. Tiberu knew exactly what to say to get him to comply; Obi-Wan loved the children and didn't want to lose them. He could see from the wide grin on Tiberu's face that he knew that he had won before the battle hade even begun.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and asked in a dead voice. "What do you want me to do?" Tiberu gave him a datapad with addresses on and a bag with some parcels in it.

"All you have to do is to deliver those packages to the addresses on the datapad before the day is up." Tiberu stood up, paused and ended the conversation with. "I'll know if they aren't delivered today and then who knows what might come forward into the light. Have a good day, slave." And with those words Obi-Wan was alone again.

Well almost alone, he still had Altea, although he did not know for how long. He still had errands to do, and now he had to deliver packages all over Theed too.

It was days like this where he could not live in the Moment. No it was days like this he cursed ever being picked by the Jedi, and then being rejected anyway. 


	4. Chapter 3

As Destiny Grows

Chapter 3

They almost didn't make it into the apartment. As soon as they were in the dark, silent, stairwell Anton threw himself at Qui-Gon. He wasn't prepared for such a forward move, that he didn't have time to brace himself. With Anton attached to his lips Qui-Gon stumbled back against the wall just inside the gateway. Anton was slim with a light build, but with him pressed as close as possible with clothes on, Qui-Gon could feel the hidden muscles.

Qui-Gon lost himself in the soft lips of his companion, enjoying the feeling of Anton's tongue tracing his lips over and over until he opened his mouth to deepen the kiss. The kiss grew passionate at once and Qui-Gon slowly lost the control that Jedi Masters were known for. His hands traveled down the long lean back, cupping the firm ass, pulling Anton closer to his body.

For a few minutes the only thing on their minds were the heat building between them and the kisses that were getting more and more frantic, as was the movements of their hands. Without conscious thought their hips started moving against the others, seeking friction that was hard gained through the layers of clothes in the way.

They were startled back to reality by a loud bang from the street. Looking at each other they could not stop the laughter. A Jedi Master and a courtier so caught up in each other that they started taking of their clothes in the stairwell. Qui-Gon bent down and picked up his robe, squirming slightly when his leggings pulled tight over his erection.

Before he could decide what to do next, Anton snagged a corner of the robe and started pulling Qui-Gon up the stairs. On the way up Qui-Gon took advantage of the opportunity to look at the very firm ass he had felt just a short while ago.

Anton stopped in front of a door, hair mussed and his lips red and swollen from the frantic kisses. He smiled at Qui-Gon giving him an out if he wanted it. Qui-Gon stepped closer and kissed Anton, pressing him up against the door behind them.

They tumbled into the apartment, like teenagers, laughing and kissing. As soon as the door closed behind them Anton started removing Qui-Gon's clothes caressing and kissing the revealed skin. Steadily pushing him backwards towards the bedroom, tossing the clothes that were removed in every which way.

Just inside the bedroom Qui-Gon spun Anton around and pressed him up against a free section of the wall. Pinning him against the wall, in only leggings, he could feel Anton's arousal and he was sure that Anton could feel his. Turning the tables on him, Qui-Gon started removing Anton's clothes, almost too slowly. Anton was moaning and cursing wanting Qui-Gon to do something.

He kissed Anton again and moved his hands to the now uncovered erection. Anton groaned when Qui-Gon slowly, oh, so slowly moved his hand down the other mans cock. After a few, slow, strokes Anton pushed Qui-Gon backwards, making him fall backwards down onto the bed. Flushed and in only unlaced leggings he looked nothing like the normally serene Jedi Master.

In a quick movement, Anton pulled the leggings of leaving him naked on the bed. With a smirk Anton slid up Qui-Gon's body causing them both to moan with the contact. The intense bolt of pleasure that the simple act of skin against skin gave him told Qui-Gon that it had been way to long since the last time.

His hips moved up against Anton's on instinct and the pleasure intensified for a second. Anton seemed amused that he could reduce a Jedi Master to a moaning, writhing pool of mindless lust.

Qui-Gon pulled Anton's head down at the same time as his hips surged up. Thankfully he could feel through the force that Anton was as close as he was. Their kisses grew hotter and heavier again as their hips set a steady pace driving them closer and closer to the edge.

With a muffled shout Qui-Gon's back bent against the pleasure and his hips snapped against Anton's as he fell over the edge into a climax that made his mind grey out for a few seconds. Distantly he heard Anton following him.

They lay panting together in the aftermath, happy, sated and totally at ease with each other even though they hadn't said more than a handful word before tumbling into bed. Moving so that they were both comfortable, after using the shirt that Anton had been wearing earlier to wipe of the semen, they fell into a light doze that soon deepened to a true sleep.

Obi-Wan were walking quickly towards the tailor that was supposed to do his clothes for the party. He needed to get the fitting over with quickly. Because of the meeting with his former owner he suddenly had no time left over to take his time. Altea was still whimpering now and then and Obi-Wan hated doing that to her.

The tailor was an old man who had served the palace for decades and had seen courtiers and palace servants in a wide variety of moods. But the young Artisan that stepped into his small shop that afternoon looked like he had been hunted by the hounds of hell. The smile he gave the tailor was even more pained and hunted. The old man decided that he would work faster that he had for years to make life easier for the young tormented man.

The visit was over within minutes, the small last second changes that the Queen had ordered simple to do Obi-Wan thanked the tailor, who wished him a better day, and almost ran out the door. That had been his last official thing to do, now all he had to do was to return Altea to the temple and make sure that he delivered all the packages before the party started.

Thankfully he wasn't needed in the preparations at the palace and so he had at least a few hours. He hoped that it would be enough time. The caregiver at the temple asked him if he was alright when he suddenly felt dizzy for no reason.

"I am fine, Neta. Just a bit stressed. Oh, by the way Altea reacted to a man at the restaurant I had lunch at so if you can make sure that she is exposed to as much good emotions as possible?" Neta nodded and gave Obi-Wan a mystified look when he turned around and left, without saying good bye or even greeting the younglings like he usually did. It was strange and not like him at all. The though disappeared a second later when two of the younglings started fighting in the flowerbeds.

Four hours later Obi-Wan almost collapsed on a bench in a park two streets over from the palace. He had somehow managed to deliver all packages and get to the palace with one and a half hour to spare before the party. But he was totally exhausted.

He could guess what had been in the parcels. Tiberu dealt in the illegal import of drugs, any drug you could think off and he could get it to you. Mostly the drugs were delivered by his slaves, like Obi-Wan had done when Tiberu was his owner, but on a few planets slaves stood out. Naboo was such a planet; most slaves were given free on Naboo after only a few years on the planet. A slave not being freed raised eyebrows and Tiberu could not have that.

Obi-Wan groaned, he was thinking about the past again. This was his life now and all he could do was to live with it. He stood up and limped to the gate to the palace, he had pulled a muscle in his leg.

The guards greeted him like the friend he was. They were worried as Obi-Wan looked like he had been through hell and back. They had never seen obi-wan limp before, and they had seen him do a back flip of the palace wall. A wall that was four meters tall.

"Obi-Wan, rough day?" One of the guards leered they knew that Artisans didn't need to sleep with their customers if they didn't want to but they liked to tease Obi-Wan since he usually wanted to. Obi-Wan just nodded at them and walked into the palace. They exchanged glances and decided to remember this. No matter how tired, stressed or late he was, he always stopped and talked with the guards for a little while.

Obi-Wan entered the palace in a fog, he knew that someone had said something but he could not focus on anything. If he couldn't pull himself together soon he would be able to attend the party that he had helped organize.

Three cups of tea and a warm bath later and he at least felt normal again, if a little worse for wear. He put on his clothes and walked down to the main hall to make sure that everything was as it was supposed to be. He chatted for a while with the maids before one of 'Dala's handmaidens turned up and started ushering him to the Queens chambers talking quickly about how exciting it was with a party.

Amidala looked up from her work as Obi-Wan were shoved into the room. He smiled at her, getting a smile in return.

"I think you need to let your handmaidens attend your parties more often 'Dala. They are totally crazy today." Amidala laughed. Obi-Wan sighed, everything would be alright. Eventually.

Qui-Gon woke up from his nap to the feeling of warm arms wrapped around him and a head on his chest. He stretched slowly so not to wake up his bedmate. He had been right; the lunch was both relaxing and fun.

Carefully he extracted himself from Anton and went in search for the fresher. When he came back Anton was awake and waiting for him. Qui-Gon gave him a kiss before he went looking for his leggings; he found them in the kitchen for some reason. They had never even been in there.

Anton laughed at the puzzled look on the Jedi Masters face. Apparently there were some mysteries in life that the Jedi hadn't solved yet. Naked, Anton walked into the kitchen to actually get something to eat, before he had to return to the palace to prepare for the party that night.

"So, was it a good place?" Qui-Gon sat down at the table in the kitchen watching Anton prepare lunch. It felt very domestic and suddenly he felt a pang somewhere, before he could think more closely about it, it was gone.

"It is a very good place, the service is excellent. I can't say anything about the food yet though." Qui-Gon teased back. Anton was such a friendly person, he was easy to like. Qui-Gon hoped he could continue to see him during his stay in Theed.

The food was eaten in companionable silence. There was nothing that needed to be said at that point in time. After lunch they shared a shower and talked about meeting each other again. They decided to meet at the main square the next day.

Whistling, the Jedi Master left Anton's apartment. It looked like it could be a good vacation after all. It didn't hurt as much to think about Bruck anymore.

A few hours later Obi-Wan were doing the last minute preparations when Qui-Gon walked into the ballroom. It was just like a Jedi to be nearly half an hour to early. Qui-Gon was accosted by one of the Queen's handmaidens right away so Obi-Wan had no problem ignoring the Jedi for the preparations. There wasn't much left but there were something's the maids hadn't done yet. Like unpack the napkins and put them on the food tables in the ballroom.

When Obi-Wan got back to the ballroom almost everyone was there, a few courtiers were missing as was the Queen and her closest handmaidens. Qui-Gon was standing very close with one of the more liked courtiers. A flash of something, that Obi-Wan would have called jealousy if he had any reason to feel that, went through him when he noticed that Qui-Gon was casually touching Courtier Lamar. It was the touch of a lover not a friend.

Ignoring the feeling Obi-Wan walked over to one of the Queens bodyguards that was half hidden in a corner. Everything was ready so it was time to tell 'Dala that she could now arrive in style.

"Honza, everything is ready for the Queen now. If you are kind enough to pass the message on to her majesty." The bodyguard nodded and shooed Obi-Wan of before he started talking quickly and quietly into his communicator. It always amused Obi-Wan that the bodyguards tried to hide their names from him. By now they should know that he always found out.

He moved over to the door that the Queen would arrive through so he could be on hand if she decided to introduce him again. It seemed like she wanted everyone to know that he had arranged the party not her. He had nothing against it, he got a lot of customers that way and that had helped him buy himself free.

Queen Amidala was radiantly beautiful in an off white dress, that had been pure white that morning, and her handmaidens were almost as beautiful as their employer dressed in red. 'Dala waved Obi-Wan over as soon as she was standing in front of the throne.

"The party today was arranged by Artisan Obi-Wan Kenobi to celebrate the arrival of our esteemed delegates from the Senate. They are here to create a prosperous trade agreement between our planet and theirs. Let this party be the start of a successful week." The gathered guests applauded but the Queen wasn't done yet.

"This party is also a party to celebrate the fact that Artisan Kenobi managed an almost impossible feat yesterday. He had earned enough to buy himself free. Artisan Kenobi is no longer a slave but a free man. Let's raise our glasses in celebration." Everyone in the room did this except the foreign diplomats. The stood stunned, with chocked looks on their faces.

The party started then with music playing and food being eaten. Obi-Wan were congratulated by all of the normal couriers and their families. Most of them had hired him before for different things, from entertaining during dinner parties to host the dinner parties. The foreign diplomats on the other hand stayed as far away from him as they could. Most people from the Central planets reacted that way when they were faced with a freed slave. A slave they could ignore, even if slavery was forbidden by the senate. But a freed slave was another matter, they suddenly had rights and freedom and how do you act around someone you usually ignored.

Obi-Wan ignored the diplomats; he had enough to do anyway and didn't want to impose. He noticed that a lot of them talked to Qui-Gon though, rather urgently at that. He hoped they weren't trying to get the Jedi to help them with the negotiations. He was on vacation after all.

Suddenly there was someone standing in front of Obi-Wan looking more than a little drunk and very angry. He was a bit stunned, he hadn't done anything that could have angered her and he was on his way to leave the ballroom for a while to make sure that the kitchen was prepared to bring out more food. He decided to talk to the lady to get her out of his way.

"Excuse me, my Lady. You are standing in front of the exit to the kitchens; I have an errand there and need to pass if at all possible." He knew that he sounded a bit rude, but he was still tired and all his muscles hurt. The woman only looked even angrier.

"You don't have the right to talk to me slave. I am a Lady. Besides slavery is illegal, so that means you are illegal too." She didn't make sense, which was typical for drunken people. Obi-Wan managed to get some guards over that could escort the very intoxicated Lady back to her room. Sighing he continued to the kitchen.

He arrived back in time to see one of the diplomats yell at Queen Amidala. He hurried over when he heard the man yell his name. 'Dala looked furious when he arrived and Master Jinn was standing between the man and Amidala, as to protect her.

"Your majesty, I heard my name. Is something wrong?" Amidala had a hard time talking through the fury so Qui-Gon answered Obi-Wan.

"This man is accusing the Queen of ignoring the rules of the Federation. That she is buying slaves and looking the other way when her subjects by slaves." Obi-Wan snorted and turned to the man.

"I am sorry, my Lord but you don't have the entire picture. Most slaves that arrive on Naboo are given free within their first year. And the only reason it takes a year is because the owners give the slaves more and more freedom in doing things so that when they are given free they know how to live a free life." Obi-Wan paused and he noticed that the man was calming down.

"I was the only slave on this planet until yesterday that hadn't been given free and that is because I was owned by the Pleasure Guild, and as you might know they have the right to own slaves since their slaves are treated better than most. They have the policy to keep a slave for eight years before giving them free. But they have the right to buy themselves free, like I did yesterday." His eyes narrowed on the Lord.

"To accuse the Queen of owning slaves without proof is bad manners and on most worlds enough to be imprisoned. I don't know what the Queen will do to you but I would watch my mouth in the future."

Obi-Wan bowed to 'Dala and walked off with Qui-Gon following. Qui-Gon started talking when they were out of hearing range of the Queen.

"She was angry because Lord Paskal accused you of taking advantage of the Queen. She told him that she saw you as a brother even if you had been a slave. He didn't believe that you were free since you didn't announce it yourself. I told him that I had heard you say it yourself this morning but apparently the word of a Jedi Master wasn't good enough." Obi-Wan sighed. The party was almost over and thankfully he didn't need to stay and help clean up. He told Qui-Gon that and said good night. He really need sleep.

Qui-Gon was sitting in his room in the temple thinking about the day that had been. Anton had been wonderful and he looked forward to meeting him again. Obi-Wan on the other hand had been a bit different during the party. He had been silent and rarely smiled. His force presence had also been muted.

It could just be a result from exhaustion, and Obi-Wan had been exhausted. But Qui-Gon had never noticed someone's force presence diminishing with exhaustion. The presence usually became greater with exhaustion since it was harder to keep the control needed when tired.

Tired Qui-Gon decided to think more about it the next morning; but that night's dreams would totally remove any thought that did not revolve around Anton Lamar.


End file.
